Brits working in hi-tech industries who fancy a change of lifestyle could be tempted by a Spanish call to action.

It has emerged that the Spanish hi-tech sector is looking to recruit as many as 10,000 overseas workers, with Brits likely to flock to the appeal.

With fewer young people in Spain studying technical degrees, the IT-based industries have sounded the alarm, inviting foreign skilled workers to meet the opportunities in the sector.

Spanish hi-tech industry association AETIC is spearheading the appeal, with the electronics, IT and telecommunications firms comprising it looking to countries like Britain for the skilled and flexible workers they need.

Convincing people to come to Spain and adopt the local lifestyle should not be difficult, with British property-seekers and holidaymakers already flocking to Spain in greater numbers than anywhere else.

Barcelona is one of the key cities identified for the IT recruitment drive, with the bustling city and tranquil surrounding regions like the Costa Azahar making it a likely hit with those who respond to the call.

EasyJet has completed the acquisition of GB Airways, a budget provider of flights to Spain and elsewhere, for a total of £103.5 million.

Announcing the acquisition as part of its expansion strategy, EasyJet will be able to consolidate and strengthen its European flight routes, gaining an even bigger base at Gatwick airport thanks to the GB Airways slots.

The budget carrier acquired by EasyJet is currently a British Airways (BA) operated provider, flying 34 routes from Gatwick and Heathrow airports, and six from Manchester.

Some GB Airways routes will continue to be operated under the BA brand until March 2008, but in losing flights to EasyJet, BA plans its own routes to continue serving Spain, Portugal and elsewhere.

Planning to continue running from Heathrow and Gatwick, BA is looking to serve the Costa del Sol resort Malaga from both London airports, as well as other Iberian locations like Faro, Gibraltar and Ibiza.

Meanwhile EasyJet highlighted the benefits it would draw from the acquisition: “By winter 2008/09 GB Airways will be fully consolidated into the EasyJet business model, releasing cost savings.”

Spain has been hailed as a great property location thanks to its accessible and easy processes for buying a house.

Real estate specialist Propertyshowrooms.com said that buying in Iberia was very easy – and allowed access to a country with the most modern and comfortable of amenities.

Nicky Segal of Propertyshowrooms.com, said: “Spain is still fantastic for accessibility. Interest rates are probably the lowest around and mortgages are very easy to obtain, so finance is not a problem.

“On some developments you can sometimes get 100 per cent finance,” she added, highlighting that all of these advantages were within a stone’s throw, with the country “very easy to get to”.

Halifax recently claimed that Spanish property prices had increased by as much as 100 per cent over the last five years – making it the fastest grower in Europe – with the facility of mortgage procedures bringing in more and more overseas buyers.

Ms Segal highlighted the attractions of the lifestyle for those who took out mortgages and set up a new life in the country: “Spain is a great area, there’s nothing that you can’t get, there’s loads of facilities, loads of amenities – it’s great for old and young alike.”

A Spanish bank has revealed positive figures for mortgage lending and net profit, providing another rebuff to cynics about the country’s property market.

Mortgage lending at Catalan-based Banco Sabadell was up 18.6 percent – a figure claimed by the bank to be totally in line with the market for property financing.

The bank’s mortgage lending makes up over 20 per cent of its loans portfolio, with Banco Sabadell asserting the high quality of its mortgage standings.

On the strength of its robust lending, the bank saw its nine-month net profits rise above €600 million (£418 million) beating analyst forecasts and sending out a strong message about the health of the financial and property markets.

Forbes.com reported the comments of bank chairman Jose Oliu, who read the positive property lending figures at Sabadell as evidence that “the Spanish financial system can more than weather the crisis sparked by the US subprime loans performance”.

Prices in Spanish property have risen at rapid rates over recent years, with interest from overseas buyers keeping values afloat even at difficult times.

Rumours have continued to circulate around the sale of Spanish flag-bearing airline Iberia, with Lufthansa now claimed by many to be preparing a takeover.

Spanish newspapers Expansion and Cinco Dias both reported that the German air giant was ready to make a bid for Iberia valued at around €3 per share, but Lufthansa has strongly denied the claim.

Lufthansa executives were reported as expressing interest in the €3 share price, sparking rumours of an imminent takeover, but subsequently the company has poured water on the idea.

Agence France-Presse reported the comments of a spokesperson for the German airline, who was categorical in refuting the claim: “This is not true. We deny it”.

The sale of Iberia has raised many an interested bidder, with the airline currently one of the leading providers of flights between Spain and the UK, as well as other destinations.

Lufthansa, among other potential bidders, has indicated that British Airways – currently a ten per cent shareholder in Iberia – needs to be the first one to act.

Shares in Iberia fell slightly at the end of last week, after Lufthansa punctured the rumours claiming it was ready to make a bid for the Spanish giant.

Leading Spanish airline Iberia is involved in a big money takeover deal, sending shares in the Spanish flag carrier soaring as speculation continues.

The latest chapter in the intrigue of the Iberia sale saw Banco Santander Central Hispano rumoured to be joining the bidding for the airline, with shares rising again in response to the claims.

High competition for the airline is no surprise, seeing as Iberia is one of the leading providers of flights between Spain and the UK, allowing numerous British property investors and tourists easy access to the country.

According to Forbes.com, interannual demand measured in passenger revenue kilometres rose 3.5 per cent to 40.758 billion over the nine months to September of this year.

With such potentially lucrative proceeds, competitors and joint bidders have been rumoured to be challenging the original British Airways group indicative bid for its Spanish rival.

Air travel to Spain, especially regarding UK routes, demands a high premium – apparently higher than the €3.4 billion (£2.4 billion) offered by the British Airways group bid in May and rejected by Iberia.

Spanish budget proposals have announced the introduction of measures to encourage the use of properties for rental.

Key measures in a new legislative package include direct accommodation subsidies for 22-30 year-olds in rental property, with tax relief also offered for all tenants.

Meanwhile the province of Andalusia, home to high-demand areas like the Costa del Sol, is to provide social housing for those priced out of the market, with rental homes costing no more than a quarter of earnings promised for those making below 500 euros per month.

The new measures seek to ease up the property market and to encourage property investors, from both Spain and abroad, to use their houses for rental purposes.

Subsidies mean that young locals will be more able to afford rent, but additional incentives for buy-to-let investors may also be given if the government yields to pressure to ease laws which currently make it difficult to evict those staying beyond tenancy.

The measures are likely to hold particular appeal for UK property investors in Spain looking to ensure stable year-round tenancy of houses and flats for the medium term, or even on a more permanent basis.